30% of Financial Execs Plans to Commit Resources to Blockchain in the Next Year and a Half, says a Survey

The Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) released a report in partnership with Deloitte one of the biggest accounting firm in the world exploring how blockchain technology is being employed in financial applications, reported Accounting Today on May 9.

The report entitled “Blockchain for Financial Leaders: Opportunity vs. Reality” analyzes the impact of blockchain on financial reporting, staffing, and other areas essential to executives.

According to the survey, 30% of financial executives plan to commit resources to blockchain in the next year and a half but have no idea yet on what potential the technology holds.

64% of the respondents expressed that they won’t be deterred when they were asked if a significant change in the value of Bitcoin or any negative news tied to cryptocurrency would deter them from exploring blockchain or open ledger technology in the finance function, according to the survey.

The report predicts that fundamental precepts of accounting and auditing will need to be adapted or entirely rethought to incorporate distributed ledger technology. Only 33% of the respondents expressed they were ready to address those strategies.

67% of the respondents believe they don’t have the talent to train or hire employees with the necessary skills to implement blockchain technology and 33% mentioned they are ready.

Andrej Suskavcevic, Financial Executives International and Financial Executives Research Foundation president and CEO expressed,

“Blockchain is a powerful technology that presents numerous areas of opportunity in the financial sector. This report provides a baseline to help financial professionals understand where we are in terms of vetting, adapting and adopting blockchain. It also encourages them to begin thinking about how open ledger technology and its real-time verification and transactional capabilities can help them excel in their roles.”

The report also shows that research participants anticipate the major role blockchain will have in expanding analytic capabilities and advancing financial reporting.

“The potential of the technology is broad. However, what the research indicates is that financial executives are approaching this opportunity in an appropriately paced manner. There are still some gaps in connecting traditional systems with newer systems leveraging blockchain. These gaps will likely be closed in the near future with innovative solutions.”